The blooms of the season. Sweet pea. Enjoy!
flowers
A Natural Pause
My new hibiscus looked so wonderful against a blue sky. Enjoy.
What’s Growing On In My Garden- Early Summer
Summer is just a week old, and you would think it was Fall the way the rain and cold has been pounding down. This weather is actually a blessing in disguise, because it forces me to get indoor work done that is usually neglected when it’s gardening season!
I have a late-blooming Allium that’s getting its share of rain!
So, I just thought I would give you a rundown of what’s “growing” on in my yard this year.
First, I have to say that everything is coming along just wonderfully this year. I think this endless rain has helped speed up the lush full-grown landscape that surrounds my home. I also believe that it’s the rain that has kept the deer at bay– I haven’t had to spray my hostas and other deer delicacies only twice so far. By this time last year, I was spraying my plants every week!
As always, there is never an end to gardening. I always tell myself EVERY year that what I have done is enough and I don’t need anymore. Well, of course, I keep adding and keeping making new beds. I comb through garden magazines, peruse garden centers and research online all the different perennials I could add to my garden for my hardiness zone of 6a.
Well, these are the plants I have added this year:
Beautyberry: I have wanted one of these plants for a long time. In the fall, they will have these beautiful (hence the name) purple berries on its branches. They require part sun/shade.
I can’t wait to see these berries in all their purpley-ness!
Indian Holly Fern: I love ferns, as everyone knows at this point. So, how could I not add yet another fern to my back yard shaded area? This fern has light stripes running down the middle of the fronds.
This fern has stunning contrasts!
Creeping Thyme: I purchased four of these plants for this little brick wall I made for the flower bed directly behind the garage. I hope they will start growing over the bricks and make for an excellent groundcover look!
Some other views of my gardens that are blooming beautifully:
Maidenhair Fern
Cinnamon Fern
Yellow Loosestrife
Torch Lily
Rudbeckia
Sea Holly
Two stone crop sedum
Stay tuned at a later date for some more pictures of other plants well on their way through the season. I hope that these pictures will give you some ideas of what you would like to add in your garden as well!
Have a wonderful summer week!
A Natural Pause
One of the prettiest wildflowers that I recall from my childhood. The “paintbrush”. Enjoy.
Quick Tips and Advice for Full-On Summer Gardening
Wild daisies are a sure sign of summer!
With summer just over a week away, everybody is a busy body, scampering to greenhouses and home stores trying to get what they need done. So this post is going to be just as swift as you! Here are a few tips for the full-fledged gardening season that you need to keep in mind for the rest of the summer:
Good things come to those who wait: By the end of July/ early August, spring nursery stock gets slashed to 50% off. Pick up some things there to add to your landscape. It may seem like forever, but it’s not.
Mulch: Mulch fascinates me, actually. I don’t know why, but it does. I actually have a blog post in the works that is totally devoted to it. It’s both a time and money saver on your part. It retains water to keep your plants hydrated. And it really doesn’t cost that much for a bag. You can get it for $3. And it makes your flower beds look so darn neat and nice!
Keep the weeds out: I always have weeds. It really doesn’t matter what I do. But when I am preparing my beds in early spring, I used to lay down landscaping paper to keep the weeds out. But then I was given even better advice from my mother: lay down newspapers instead! So, to keep the weeds at bay, I lay down newspapers and then put the mulch on top. That saves you money from buying the sometimes costly landscaping paper– just use your Sunday paper! It’s better for the environment because it slowly decomposes over the growing season.
Don’t forget to enjoy it. We get so wrapped up in the work we put into our landscape that we have a hard time enjoying it. I’ve talked to some people who feel that gardening and landscaping is something they have to do, and absolutely hate it. My advice? Don’t do it! Just do what you have to do– mow your lawn and maintain what you need to. Nobody needs to do any of it, but for those of us who do the grunt work every year because we love it, stop and enjoy it. Get a nice patio umbrella and lounger and plant it right out in your yard. Sit down and relax and take in all the work you have been doing. Because, truth be told, we all get far more accomplished in the garden than we do anywhere else. Trust me on this.
Clematis beauty!
For me, I am satisfied with the results of my gardening thus far. I feel that I have finally found the “zen”, or balance that I have been striving for over several years now. Just another example of how gardening is a process, and it takes years to perfect!
Do It Yourself — Swing Set Flower Beds
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Not only to get an extra day off from work, but to observe the meaning of the day– to honor those who have served or are serving to protect our freedom.
It was a very busy weekend for my family, as I made sure my daughter got her nature fill! Going on nature walks, a trip to the aquarium and the beach, she couldn’t get enough!
I promised myself since I had been working so hard in the garden the last two weekends, I was going to have fun. But then, my husband came up with a great idea for a little part of my yard that I was NOT happy with.
The swing set last summer, right after we purchased it.
My daughter’s swing set. There was this little square right underneath her slide that you can’t mow or really do anything with. My husband is terrified of our string trimmer, so that option is out. He suggested we actually make that little space into a flower bed! My twitter followers have already heard about my swing set flower bed, because I tweeted a picture immediately after I had finishing planting!
What a brilliant idea! So, he worked up the soil for me and I purchased a flat of marigolds to put in there. I actually bought some red petunias too, but I kind of liked the idea of just having full-on marigolds.
Presto! No more unsightly grass!
So, why did I choose marigolds — why not something else?
Well, I chose annuals because I know that someday this swing set will not longer be here (and I will cry), so when the day comes for it to be removed, we can easily just throw some grass seed over it and call it a day! For me, planting a perennial would not make much sense. However, everybody is different, and may have a different way of looking at it. That’s what makes gardening so fun!
*This brings up a great point– make any swing set/play set part of your garden plan.*
-I want to also include a flower box on the side just to make it blend in with the rest of my landscaping.
So don’t think of your swing sets as eye sores for your yard– think of them as just another creative touch to your landscape!
The Need for Seed and Other Musings – The January Wrap-Up
Here it is, the last week of January is upon us. We are pretty much half way through winter, so lets hope the ole’ groundhog gives us a break this year and predicts that spring will come early! By this time of year, we are all getting cabin fever, heck even my daughter is getting sick of riding her new bike around in circles in the basement. She’s ready for the rubber to meet the road!
After a wild and crazy Saturday night of learning to ride our new bike, it’s finally time to take a rest.
It’s also time to check in and see if I am practicing what I preached way back when the snow started to fly. Well, I am very proud to say that I am now underway. So here’s a little round-up of what’s been keeping me busy in my world.
1. I am looking at seeds.
I am sure most of you have had your mailboxes inundated with seed catalogs like this:
Yes, now is the time to purchase your seeds to get a jump-start on your growing season. Whether you are going to start your veggies, herbs or some of your favorite flowers, this is the perfect time to purchase them. Why? Because the stores and nurseries are freshly stocked and you will get everything your little heart desires!!
2. I have been putting the pen to paper.
I love words. My life’s work is putting pen to paper. I do it in my job, but I have also been journalizing since I was very young. I currently have four different journals. One of those journals is my garden journal. It has all my musings in regards to my gardens, yard and what I want to do with it all.
Nothing better than a Moleskine. Or two.
3. I purchased some new books.
I remember a time, oh, about ten years ago, when all I did was work, exercise, and read. My love of words never died, it just went on vacation for a few years. I could read at least a book a week at one time. Now, it’s one a year! That’s life for you! But now, things are changing where I can now devote more time for reading and researching than I could before. My time management skills are getting much better the older I get. So, I have some really great books that I will review in the not so distant future, and I am excited to dive in to them.
4. I am getting dynamic inspiration.
This was the year I promised I would get back to being “me”. I took a few years off of being “me” to devote fully to being “mommy”. Before I became a mother, I always worked towards being dynamic. I always wanted to know a little bit about most things just so I would always be able to carry on a conversation with anybody I met. This thinking too, has contributed to the inspiration I get for gardening. It’s amazing the cool things you can think of when you look at the bigger picture!
5. I have been getting outside.
Yes, I have been able get outside a lot more than I have in the past few years, and it has made an incredible difference. I feel more at peace, and get such great joy with walking about the woods in snowshoes, cross-country skiing, or even walking. It’s amazing the effect nature has on you.
So, I guess that’s it in a nutshell. Just a little bit of what I have been working on, and hopefully it will all translate into a great, inspirational, and productive growing season!
The Bent Trowel 